Professional Member Applications

A Professional Member has the academic and experience requirements to practise engineering or geoscience and is registered as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.), a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.), or both.

Requirements for Professional Member Applicants

To become a Professional Engineer or a Professional Geoscientist in Alberta, you must meet the following criteria:

is a related program that the APEGA Board of Examiners considers to be equivalent to the above

If you do not meet the academic requirements listed above, you may still be academically qualified if your total academic qualifications (including post-secondary and post-graduate studies, exam, courses, and experience) are acceptable to the Board of Examiners.

Apply to Be a Professional Member

You must have 48 or more months of engineering or geoscience experience to apply to be a Professional Member. If you do not have 48 or more months of experience, you must apply to be a Member-in-Training.

To apply for a Professional Engineer or Professional Geoscientist licence, complete the online application. The initial questions will let you know for which designation you are eligible.

APEGA adheres to the privacy standards under the Personal Information Protection Act regarding the collection, disclosure, and use of personal information. It is the applicant’s responsibility to personally complete all components of the application. APEGA does not accept third-party submissions and will only answer questions from the applicant.

How to Pay Your Application Fees

If you want to pay in person, APEGA can only accept cheques. We do not accept cash payments, and we cannot process credit card or debit payments at our offices.

Required Documents

APEGA will not review your application until we have all required documents and you have paid the application fee.

After submitting your application, you have 90 days to send us all of the academic documents you listed on your application. If you do not submit these documents within 90 days, APEGA will withdraw your application. Your application fee is not refundable.

You can check the status of your application or update your contact information by logging in to the Member Self-Service Centre. If any documents are missing, they will be listed as not received or incomplete.

Review Process for Professional Member Applications

After paying for and submitting your application with all necessary documents, the Board of Examiners (BOE) will review your qualifications. The BOE has the authority to approve, defer, or refuse your application until it feels that you have fulfilled the requirements in the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act.

Academic Review

The academic review looks at your university education. Include information about all of your degrees if you hold multiple degrees in engineering or geoscience (e.g., undergraduate and post-graduate degrees).

The BOE will require you to write exams, get additional experience, or both if you are not a graduate of a university program that meets one of the below requirements:

is recognized by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (for engineering applicants)

meets the requirements of the Geoscience Knowledge and Experience Requirements (for geoscience applicants)

is a related program that the BOE considers to be equivalent to number 1 or 2

Experience Review

Your application includes a work experience record. An Experience Examiner, who is a member of the BOE, will look at the type, quality, and duration of your work experience, as well as how recent it is. The Experience Examiner will provide a recommendation regarding your experience to the entire BOE for review.

Board of Examiners Decision

The BOE will make a final decision on the recommendations regarding your academic and experience qualifications.

The BOE meets once per month, excluding July, and decides whether to approve, defer, or refuse licensure.

Note

BOE meeting dates are not available to the public.

We cannot release decision information over the phone.

We will email you the decision by the end of the following month after the BOE meeting.

Check Your Application Status

You can check the status of your application or update your contact information by logging in to the Member Self-Service Centre. If any documents are missing, they will be listed as not received or incomplete.

Communicating with APEGA

As part of our mandate to public safety, APEGA uses a detailed and thorough review process for all applications. This process can take up to 12 months (see more about our estimated time frames by application type). We know application delays can be frustrating. That’s why APEGA is committed to efficiency and high standards in our processes and work quality to make every effort to process applications in a timely manner.

APEGA fosters an environment of respect. We will ensure our communication is professional, prompt, and courteous. As part of the good character requirement of applicants, we expect the same level of professional communication from those we serve.

How to Reduce Delays in the Review Process

Check your application status in the Member Self-Service Centre to see if any information is outstanding.

Submit outstanding items as soon as possible.

Work directly with your references and/or validators to confirm they have submitted the material APEGA requires.

Note: Your application is not reviewed until all material is received.

Document Retention

APEGA is committed to the security of your information.

You have 90 days to pay for and submit your application. If after 90 days you have not completed and paid for your application, we will destroy all electronic and physical records related to your application to protect your privacy and personal information.

Once your application has been submitted, all associated documents (such as transcripts, World Education Services reports, and work experience records) become the property of APEGA and will not be returned to the applicant, a member, or any third party. This policy applies to originals, copies, and electronic documents.